Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to lights that are attached to helmets and particularly to lights that are attached to helmets that have both a headlamp and a tail lamp.
2. Description of Related Art
Snow machines, all terrain vehicles, motorcycles and other small off-road vehicles are used extensively for both recreation and work. These devices allow access to backcountry locations that are often otherwise inaccessible. Most of these vehicles have headlights that allow use of the vehicles at night. These headlamps are limited however. While they do illuminate the trail immediately in front of the vehicle, they do not illuminate around the vehicle. This means that a person approaching such a vehicle at night may not see the vehicle until they are too close for safe operation. The restriction of the headlight means that a rider looking to one side of the vehicle has no light to illuminate the field of view. This can be dangerous if there are animals, or other dangerous conditions that the rider cannot see.
Riders often wear helmets that are used for protection. Several forms of headlamps have been developed to overcome the problem of illuminating the sides of a trail. The problem with these lights is that they are limited to projecting light forward of the rider. They do nothing to solve the problem of warning approaching riders that a vehicle is on the trail.
The instant invention overcomes this problem. It is a light system that attaches to a helmet. The light is designed to be removable. The system has a forward head light that enables a rider to illuminate in whatever direction the rider""s head is looking. Moreover, it has a translucent shell. In one embodiment, the translucent shell is colored red. The reflector bulb allows light from the headlamp to leak through the rear of the shell. Because the shell is red, this light gives the appearance of a taillight that warns other riders of the vehicle""s presence. In a second embodiment, the device has a forward headlamp and a second bulb that illuminates the rear shell. In a modification of this embodiment, the rear lamp has two filaments. One filament remains on all the time and acts as a taillight. The other filament is activated by the brake handle of the vehicle. In this way, it acts as a brake light, further warning other riders that the vehicle is slowing.
Finally, the lamp system is designed to be removable. In this way, a rider can remove the light system and use the light as a hand-held unit away from the vehicle.